Rex Ryan brought his New York Jets came to M&T Bank Stadium Sunday night, looking to right the Good Ship Gang Green and set sail to that predicted Super Bowl championship. In typical Ryan blowhard fashion, he came, he saw, he trashed talked before the game and mouthed off during the game at officials.
Then the former Ravens defensive coordinator left town with his tail between his legs, his team bruised, battered, and whipped by a Purple and Black monster.
What Mr. Ryan got was an old fashioned Baltimore Beat Down, courtesy of the very defense he spawned and developed. It was a 17 point win that seemed greater due to the total dominance of Ravens front seven. The non-stop, ferocious rush and blitz schemes of Chuck Pagano paid huge dividends, and more than compensated for a depleted secondary.
By the middle of the 3rd quarter, when the Ravens played the new fan anthem, the rocking, thumping, 7 Nation Army by The White Stripes, the game was well in hand. The fans were in full song, the Ravens were running out the clock, and Mark Sanchez was running for his life when he wasn’t flinching after passing. The game couldn’t end soon enough for the Jets. Rex created this eleven-headed monster, and the Ravens defense was happy to remind him of that at game’s end.
The Ravens Defense: The Purple and Black left the Jets Black and Blue. They restricted the Jets to 38 yards rushing and were largely responsible for Mark Sanchez’s quarterback rating of 30. Even the Rexinator said after the game that you had to take your hat off to the Ravens. He’d never seen anything it. What else can you say?
DUDS
It has to be Joe Flacco. Fans could not realistically expect another 300+ yard effort against a superior defense, and his receivers did drop a couple of catchable balls, but the statistics from this game are telling…Flacco completed no TD passes, has one interception returned for a TD, fumbled once for a Jets recovery, went 0 for 10 pass completions in the 2nd quarter alone, and had a quarterback rating of 37. It was just a bad, bad night for the offense in general and Joe in particular, both of whom were thankfully balled out by a stellar defensive performance.
AROUND THE RAVENS AND AROUND THE LEAGUE – AT THE QUARTER POLE:
The NFL Stock Market Report
Wall Street continues to fluctuate, as do the teams in the National Football League. Here’s who’s up and who’s down in the first week of October.
Stock Up:
· Green Bay Packers: The Pack is the class of the league at this point. No arguments here.
· Baltimore Ravens: When a team beats a quality opponent by more than two touchdowns while their quarterback plays what is possibly his worst statistical game as a pro, the future looks good.
· Detroit Lions: They stay here until they lose. And that may not happen until mid-November.
· Cincinnati Bengals: Would you believe they have the top ranked defense in the league?
· Washington Redskins: Go ahead and laugh, but they’re leading the NFC East. And, at this point, who in that division can beat them?
· San Francisco 49ers: Jim Harbaugh has done a great job in the Bay City. If the 49ers and Harbaugh keep this up, the Thanksgiving Night game will be epic.
Stock Down
The 4 teams (Miami, Minnesota, Indy, and St. Louis) who currently sport 0-4 records are not even listed on my Stock Exchange. They are dreadful beyond description. But here are some other teams of note headed in the wrong direction.
· Philadelphia Eagles: The Dream Team is in the middle of a really bad Nightmare.
· New York Jets: Another AFC road loss this week in Foxborough and it could be game over and season done for Gang Green.
· Pittsburgh Steelers: The line play on both sides of the ball is terrible. Big Ben may be in a body brace by the end of the season. Add in an aging defense, injuries, and it’s a recipe for a .500 season.
· Dallas Cowboys. How do you blow a 24 point lead at home? It’s easy when the bipolar Tony Romo is your quarterback.
· Atlanta Falcons: They’re 2-2 only because they beat two of the league’s weak sisters – barely. This week Mr. Rodgers pays a visit. He won’t ask to be their neighbor, either.
Dead Men Walking:
Concurrent with the teams, here are the coaches who are under fire. In no particular order:
1) Tony Sparano, Miami. He’s already received the dreaded “vote of confidence” from owner Stephen Ross.
2) Leslie Frazier, Minnesota. He won’t make to Los Angeles – if the city will even take this team.
3) Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis. His worst decision might have been the hire of Josh McDaniels as offensive coordinator.
4) Andy Reid, Philadelphia. So much was expected. So little has been delivered.
5) Rex Ryan, New York Jets. Just because.
Bye Week Recap
Fans should be pleased with the team at this point. I know I am. We’re 3-1 and leading the division. Sure, we stunk up the joint in Nashville but, let’s face it, the Ravens weren’t going undefeated to begin with. It’s better to get a turkey like that game out of the way early rather than late in the season when it could affect playoff positions.
Originally I wasn’t happy with a week 5 bye, but the Ravens are banged up in several positions and the break will be more than beneficial. By the Houston game on October 16, we should have Ben Grubbs, Lee Evans, Chris Carr, and maybe even Jimmy Smith back in the lineup. And we then face a Texas team that will not have Andre’ Johnson.
Although the Ravens don’t play this week, several games should hold our interest; Tennessee at Pittsburgh will be no cake walk for the Steelers. The Jets will visit Air Brady in New England. Oakland will visit a tough Houston team. All crucial AFC games. There’s a good chance the Ravens will improve their position without even playing a game. So, I like…(home team in bold)
Titans over the Steelers (-3.5)
Patriots (-9) BIG over the Jets
Houston (-6) over Oakland
Jacksonville (-2.5) over Cincinnati
Note: All stats courtesy of NFL.com, thanks to Fox Sports.com, CBSSports.com, and ProfootballTalk.com for additional content.
